The Mything Potter
by rghosman
Summary: Harry and the gang travel to Deva to meet Skeeve and the MYTH INC. crew.
1. Chapter 1

The Mything Potter

A crossover between

J. K. Rowling's "Harry Potter"

Robert Asprin's "Myth Adventures"

A story written by Richard G. Hosman

Disclaimer – I do not own either the Harry Potter stories or characters nor do I own the Myth Adventure stories or characters.

Chapter 1 – The War Is Over

As Harry sat in the Headmasters office talking to the portrait of Dumbledore, he wondered what would become of his life now that the Dark Lord was gone.

"What am I supposed to do now? Somehow school just doesn't seem that important any more."

Dumbledore smiled down at Harry. "Maybe not, but you should never stop learning. Can you imagine how plain and ordinary I would have been if I had stopped learning after school?"

Harry looked up with a crooked grin. "I can't imagine you ever being plain and ordinary, but how do I keep learning if school has nothing left to teach me?"

"Harry, just because Voldemort is gone doesn't mean your job is done. Your victory has proved to the wizarding world that you are indeed the "Chosen One", because of that, people will always come to you for help."

"How can I help them? I don't know enough to be any good to them even with help from Hermione and Ron."

"And that is the key to it all. You can't do it on your own Harry. You need the help of others and if you are willing, then I have the answer."

Harry let out an exasperated sigh. "Of course I'm willing, I'm just out of ideas. So, what have you got in mind this time?"

"There is a group of people that you and your friends need to meet. They can help you learn what you need to know in order to help others in ways that you could never imagine."

Harry didn't even try to hide the surprised look on his face. "Who are they and how do I find them?"

"You can find them by using the portkey you will find in my pensive. Take it with you, it wont work unless you are all touching it at the same time. As for who these people are, they are a diverse group of people, maybe a bit strange to you at first, but they are great friends."

Walking over to the cabinet where the pensive was kept, Harry stepped on the stone that would open it and looked inside. Sitting in the middle of the bowel was a paper bag with a note on top that said, FOR HARRY POTTER. Harry took the bag and looked at it. It was a plain white bag with black lettering that said YELLOW CRESANT INN.

A few days later Harry, Hermione, and Ron, were back at Number 12 Grimould Place trying to relax. Harry was wondering how he was going to tell his friends about the conversation with Dumbledore when Hermione saved him the trouble.

"So Harry, what's next?"

"What do you mean next? Haven't we done enough?"

"Come on Harry, you know better than that. People aren't going to just let you slide into the background and rest. If anything they are going to come to you to solve problems just to see if you can."

"Oy, Hermione, we just won a war. Don't you think we deserve a break for a while?" Ron asked his question through a mouth full of food.

"Well yes, I do, but others wont."

Harry stood up and started walking around the drawing room with his hands behind his back.

"What are you thinking about Harry? You know whatever it is, Ron and I will help."

"I'm thinking that before we start making plans, we need to have a meeting with everyone involved."

Ron stopped with his hand half way to his mouth and stared. "What are you talking about Harry, we're right here, isn't this a meeting?"

"I'm not just talking about us Ron. There are other people involved here."

Hermione gave a thoughtful look and asked, "Who else are you thinking of Harry?"

Harry kept pacing the drawing room as he spoke. "Well, there's Ginney, and Neville, and Luna. They went with us to the Ministry and have been with us since, so they should have a say in what happens after all they have done the last few years."

Hermione, still looking thoughtful, said, "O.K., I can see that, but you are thinking of others as well aren't you?"

"I'm thinking of Ron's parents, George, Luna's father, Professor McGonagall, Neville's grandmother, and Percy. All of them can help and should be given the choice instead of just assuming they are willing."

"Of course you're right Harry," Hermione said. "We know how to get in touch with Professor McGonagall, and she can reach Neville and his grandmother."

"My dad can get in touch with George and Percy, and even Luna and her dad," said Ron.

A week later, after all the plans had been made and everyone had been contacted, Harry was finding it a little hard to believe that everyone had been so willing to come.

The drawing room had been turned into a meeting room for the occasion and every face looked a little confused, wondering what it was all about.

Harry still hadn't told anyone about his plans. Even Ron and Hermione were still in the dark. Every time they asked, he just told them he didn't want to have to explain everything twice.

As Harry called the meeting to order, all eyes were on him and he couldn't help but feel like he was back in the Hogs Head in fifth year.

Harry told them all about the conversation with Dumbledore and what his plans were for going on this trip. When he was done it was Professor McGonagall that spoke up first.

"Potter, while I can understand and admire your faith in Albus, I can't understand why you felt you had to tell everyone here. You are an adult now, just go if that's what you want to do."

"I am going Professor, but my decision isn't the only one that matters here."

"Potter, you know, sometimes you can be just as stubborn and confusing as Albus Dumbledore. Are you sure you weren't related in some way?"

Even though she looked serious, the whole room broke into wild laughter. Finally, even she smiled and chuckled a little bit.

"While I appreciate the compliment, at least I think it was, I am thinking of the future, mine and everyone here."

Molly Weasley was looking quite confused by this remark and asked, "Harry dear, I'm not sure I understand. What does this have to do with the rest of us?"

"Dumbledore and Hermione both said that people aren't going to leave me alone just because the war is over. In fact, people are going to keep coming to me to solve their problems if not because of the prophecy, then just because they don't trust the Ministry to help them any more, and personally I can't say as I would blame them on that second point."

No one said a word as Harry spoke, especially since they knew he was right.

"The problem with trying to help everyone is that I can't do it alone."

Ginney faked a feinting spell and slid out of her chair onto the floor. "The world is coming to an end. Harry Potter just said he needs help!"

Again the room broke out in laughter and when things calmed down again Harry said, "Yes, I do need help, and that's why everyone is here."

"While I plan to go and meet these people and learn what they have to offer, I'm not the only one this trip is being offered to."

Hermione almost looked insulted at Harry and said, "Harry how could you even ask? You know that where you go Ron and I will be there with you."

"Oy mate, to even think we wouldn't be there, that would be like trying to keep Hermione away from a book."

"I had no doubt about the two of you since I have trouble keeping either of you from following me to the bathroom because you think the toilet paper will attack me."

Looking around the room he continued. "However, there are others that I must extend this invitation to."

The confused look on everyone's faces made him keep going.

"Neville and Luna, you were the ones that took the D.A. To heart and kept it going even when it meant that you could have died helping me, even though you had no idea where I was at the time. I can't go on with this without asking you to join us."

Neville's grandmother spoke up for the first time. "While my grandson is legal age and is free to do as he chooses, I must say that I can't see him doing anything else with his life at this time. You have given him hope and reason to fight the good fight. I will do everything I can for both him and you."

"While Luna has not yet reached legal age, being able to make her own decisions was very important to her mother and to me as well so I will leave this choice up to her and just say that I will support her no matter what her answer is."

Harry turned to Neville but before he could ask Neville said. "I'm with you Harry, no matter where or when. Just try and keep me away."

Turning to Luna, Harry noticed there was a tear in her eye and guessed ti was from what her father had said about her mother but soon found out otherwise.

"I never had friends until I joined the D.A., then I knew what it was like to be included in something that was worth doing. Neville and I kept it going because we believed you would be back and need our help. We didn't care what happened to us because we wanted you to be proud of us. I will always be your friend and will follow you no matter where you go. Besides who else is going to keep the Nargles and Wrackspurts away from you?"

Professor McGonagall gave a small sniff and said, "Potter I must admit that while I share everyone's admiration for you and your friends, and applaud everything that has been said, there are still some people wondering why they are here. I for one am curious since I am neither a parent or guardian."

"That's the second part of my plan Professor. I think that when we get back, the best way for us to help others is to form a company so we can pool our talents and resources together so we can be more effective. As to why I asked you to be here today, as well as the others, is because I don't want any of you to feel this is something you have to do. This should be something you want to do of your own free will."

"Potter, I am proud to say that the doors of Hogwarts and all the resources within the castle walls, be they books, tools, equipment, or people, will always be open to any of you. I trust that you all know that should any of you need anything, all you need do is ask."

"Thank you Professor, that means a lot to all of us."

"Harry, Fred and I have been with you from the beginning and even though Fred is no longer with us, I know that we would both say that whatever you need us to do, we will do it no matter what. So what can I do?"

"If you are willing George, I would like you to make things that we can use but can't get anywhere else. You and Fred had a knack for creating the absurd and impossible and we can use that to our advantage."

"You give me a list of the things you need and they will be waiting for you when you get back mate."

"Mr. Weasley, you and Percy are in a position unique to everyone else here in that you both work at the Ministry. We all know from experience that they don't tell us everything that is going on, nor do they always tell us the truth. Can I count on both of you to keep us informed as to what is really going on inside?"

"Of Course you can Harry, and I can do you even one better. Bill wanted me to tell you that both he and Griphook will give you any support you need from Gringotts."

"Great. Mr. Lovegood since we all know the Daily Prophet prints what the Ministry tells them, can we depend on the Quibbler to print the truth?"

"Harry, for you, the pages of the Quibbler will always be blank just waiting for you to fill them."

"Mrs. Longbottom, you have so many contacts, not only in the wizarding world but the muggle world as well. Would you be willing to use those to help keep us in the know?"

"You silly boy, of course I will. After all, whatever helps you helps my grandson as well."

"Ginney, although I want to ask you to join us I know that like Luna, you aren't quite legal age yet so I must respect your parents wishes on this."

"In that case I will answer for my daughter," Mrs. Weasley said crisply. "I can not expect my entire family to back you and support you while Ginney just sits here and waits for you to return. Being separated from you for so long was so hard for her. She tried not to let it show but a mother knows. If she wants to join you then she may, but be warned Harry, if you don't bring her back safe and sound then you will have me to face and I promise you that you will wish You Know Who was still alive."

Once everyone had calmed down and said their good bye's, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginney, Luna, and Neville were sitting around the large kitchen table eating dinner trying not to think about the coming trip. None of them knew where they were going, but they all trusted Dumbledore and he had never failed them before.

Finally Harry spoke up. "We should probably finish eating and get to bed. We don't know what to expect tomorrow so an early start might be the best idea."

"Harry woke up the next morning to find Hermione and Ginney already in the kitchen making breakfast for everyone. Yawning good morning to the girls he sat down at the table and  
Ginney brought him a cup of coffee and said good morning with a kiss.

As they sat drinking their coffee the others can in and joined them. Hermione got coffee for Ron and Luna got coffee for her and Neville.

After Breakfast they each made sure they had a bag packed with what they thought they might need. Hermione also had her magic bag around her neck for all the things that were to big for a backpack, Ron had his light putter outer, and Harry made sure he had his invisibility cloak with him.

Standing in the middle of the drawing room again, Harry explained that once they were all touching the portkey all he had to do was count to three and it would work, taking them where ever it was they were going.

"Well," said Luna, "no time like the present is there?"

With that they all reached out and put a finger on the bag and off they went.

When everything ended they were piled up in a bunch on the floor of a large indoor garden with benches, statues, a stable, a large fountain, and lots of sun windows in the ceiling. They were just getting their bearings and started to separate from each other when they heard a voice growl at them from somewhere close.

"Bout time you showed up."

Ron opened his eyes to see a large pair of green scaled feet. He looked further up and saw a slightly shorter than average, although very broad and muscular green scaled body. Looking up even further up he saw a face with a mouth that went all the way across, pointed ears that laid flat against the head and very angry gold eyes with yellow flecks in them and even more green scales.

All of the sudden the mouth smiled showing two rows of three inch long teeth with very sharp points on every single one.

Ron let out a startled "Bloody Hell!" and passed out cold.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Who's Who

My name is Skeeve and I'm the reason this company exists. I guess you could even say it's my fault since it was my idea. This current project, however, was the making of my one time mentor and now partner Aahz.

Our conference table had never seen so many people at one time before and six of those people none of us had ever seen before.

"O.K. Aahz, this is your party so let's get it started."

"Right. Tanda will know some of the background here but to the rest of you it's going to be new information. Also, for our new friends here, I think some kind of explanation is due so they can understand how it is that they came to be here."

"Quite a few years ago a mad magician by the name of Isstvan tried to take over the dimensions and a group of us, Tanda included, got together and stopped him. A couple of years ago he tried again and Skeeve, Tanda, and I, stopped him again before he got to far."

"One of the magicians in that first group, as you know Skeeve, was your old teacher Garkin. What you don't know is that another one was named Albus Dumbledore."

Tanda suddenly looked up. "Wow Aahz, I haven't thought of Albus in years. What ever happened to him anyway?"

Harry gave a painful look in Tanda's direction. "He died last year."

"I'm so sorry to hear that. Were you close?"

Hermione came to Harry's rescue. "We were all close to him in some fashion but Harry much more so than the rest of us."

"Anyway," Aahz said, "about four years ago, Dumbledore came to me and told me about the war with Voldemort and about an incredible group of young magicians he knew of and asked if some day I might teach them what I know."

Ron spoke up for the first time and asked, "If you knew about the war then why didn't you help?"

Hermione looked shocked. "Ron, don't be so rude. These people have invited us into their home to share their knowledge with us and all you can do is insult them?"

"No, it's a fair question actually." Aahz turned to Ron and looked him in the eye. "There are two reasons I didn't help kid. First of all, thanks to a practical joke played by Garkin, I have no powers. Second, I don't know how to access the dimension of Errth."

Neville looked up and asked, "What's a dimension?"

"A dimension is one of several worlds existing simultaneously with others, but on a different plane of existence."

Harry looked at Luna like she had just grown a third arm. "How could you possibly know that?"

"One of Daddy's contributing writers explained it in an article he wrote."

Aahz looked impressed at that. "He was right. Anyway, some people, like Tanda here, can travel those dimensions with no problem. Unfortunately Errth is so far away, I don't know of anyone that has ever been there or been from there except for Dumbledore."

Harry gave a little chuckle. "Leave it to him to do something no one else ever has."

"Which, by the way, leaves the question of how you got here and how you are going to get back home?"

"Dumbledore left me a portkey for that so it wont be a problem."

Tanda looked confused. "What's a portkey?"

"The way Garkin explained it to me is that it's like a D-Hopper but it only goes to one place and sometimes back again."

Ginney spoke up this time and asked. "If this isn't Earth then where are we?"

Aahz answered back saying, "Well first of all you have to remember that there are planets and dimensions. The planet is usually the same as the dimension but in your case the planet is Earth but the dimension is Errth."

Ginney looked at Aahz like she was going to curse him with her famous Bat Bogey hex. "You haven't answered my question. Where are we?"

"You are in the dimension of Deva."

"More importantly," Harry said, "is why are we here? What exactly did Dumbledore have in mind?"

"That's the easy part," Aahz explained. "Dumbledore wanted to set up and exchange program of sorts. We teach you our magic and you teach us yours. An exchange of two completely different kinds of magic."

Hermione sat up suddenly and said, "Wow, that sounds like fun!"

"Good, now that everything is settled, why don't you introduce the crew Skeeve?"

"Well, let's start with the obvious. I'm Skeeve and this is my partner Aahz. Going around the table from him is Bunny who is my administrative assistant. Next is Aahz's cousin Pookie. The slender girl next to her is Spyder. The two gentlemen sitting next to her are Guido and Nunzio who are my bodyguards. Next is the brother and sister team of Tanda and Chumley. Last but certainly no least is my apprentice Masha."

Harry and the others shook hands with everyone as they were introduced and said, "Now I guess it's my turn. I'm Harry Potter and this is my girlfriend Ginney Weasley and her brother Ron, that's Hermione Granger who is the brain of the group. Next to her is Neville Longbottom, and finally our resident expert on the strange and unknown, Luna Lovegood."

"It's good to have you all here and I hope you enjoy your stay with us and remember that while you are here, our home is your home. I can't wait to work with each and every one of you."

With that, Chumley stood up and said. "Well, what say we get the sleeping arrangements out of the way then go for a bite to eat and a walk around the bazaar, eh what?"

"A-Men to that!" Ron exclaimed. "I'm so hungry I could eat a hippogriff."

After everyone got settled in we went to the closest fast food place in the bazaar. You guessed it, the Yellow Crescent Inn. As we walked in, our guests looked around and seemed right at home. None of us had ever eaten here but I love the strawberry shakes.

Once Harry explained to us what a hamburger was, Bunny, Masha, Guido, Nunzio, and I, decided to try one. We walked up to the counter and Hermione said, "Look guys, they have a gargoyle for a decoration."

The gargoyle slowly turned his head and said, "Who you calling a decoration?"

I introduced everyone to Gus and Hermione was so embarrassed that she couldn't stop apologizing. Gus just shrugged it off in his usually good humored way and said it was no big deal.

We sat at a couple of large tables that we moved together and ate our lunch. You know, as bad as they looked to me, the burger wasn't half bad.

Gus came over and talked for a bit and made sure our new friends knew that they were welcome at any time.

After lunch we went for a walk around the bazaar and they were even more wide eyed than I was on my first trip here. It took us two hours just to go three rows. Harry tried to buy a book but couldn't understand the Deveel shopkeeper at first. Once he said a few things there was no more problem. Like Aahz had told me long ago, no Deveel would ever let a sale slip by because of a little thing like language.

We made a trip through the practical joke section and Ron said that his brother would kill for a chance to open a shop here.

"Well," said Aahz, "maybe we should get back home and start getting ready for a very busy day tomorrow."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Harry And Skeeve

"OK Harry, I thought that for today we would just take it easy and get to know each other, do some question and answer stuff, and maybe even show a few examples instead of just jumping into the thick of things."

"One of the fundamentals of magic is knowing and understanding what is behind the magic, knowing what makes it work."

"It's like that for us to. At Hogwarts we go to classes not only to learn the magic, but to learn the movements and theory behind it as well."

"My first question may not sound very intelligent but as Aahz would tell you, they never are. Why do you use a want?"

Harry laughed a little at that but answered the question. "It may not make much sense to someone who doesn't use one but I'll try of explain it the best I can. Actually Hermione would probably be better at this than I would."

"When a witch or wizard is born their power is unfocused and sporadic. For example, when my cousin and his gang would pick on me, I would suddenly find myself out of harms way like being on to of the school. My aunt and uncle would yell and scream about my hair, take me to get it cut but the next morning it would be the same as the day before it was cut."

"The wand gives the witch or wizard a focusing point for the magic. The wand is made from wood that has a magical connection to the earth which gives it a good grounding and a core from a magical creature to give strength to the spell."

"After many years a witch or wizard may be able to do magic without a wand. I saw Dumbledore do many things without a wand, but he was an exception to just about every rule ever written."

"You can say that again."

Turning their heads they saw Aahz leaning against the door frame listening to every word being said.

"Thought I might join you two for this little session and see what I could learn. After all this is new for all of us and who knows, this might be the start of something really good for all magic users. Hope you don't mind."

"Not at all Aahz, glad to have you involved" Harry said.

"Come on in partner, there's always room for you."

"Thanks guys, now what were you saying about Dumbledore? What did I miss?"

"I was just explaining to Skeeve why we use a wand is all."

"As I understand it, it's a focus thing.

"That's right Aahz, it's a focusing point for the witch or wizard."

"Maybe we should have started you with one" Aahz said with a grin. "Nothing personal partner but you could have used one with Garkin."

"It would have made that candle lighting exercise much easier."

"So how is it you can do magic without using one? What do you use to focus the energy?"

"Aahz do you want to take this one, after all you've had a lot more experience with it than I have?"

"I'll give it a shot. First of all you have to remember that it's nothing against your intelligence or abilities, just a different method."

"Every dimension, including yours, has force lines. These lines are currents of magical energy that flow through the ground, the air, and sometimes even the water. These force lines can be seen by anyone with magical ability and appear as a kind of spear with points that show the direction of that flow."

"With us, we learn to tap into that flow and direct the current with our minds. Our minds, and sometimes our hands, then become our wands or rather the focal points that allow the magic to happen."

"I just happen to have a feather here, so why don't you give Harry an example of what I mean?"

"Sure thing Aahz. Harry this is the first spell I ever learned from my old mentor Garkin. The purpose is to teach control. Levitation of different objects is different and feathers are much harder to control because they were once part of a living being."

I wrapped my mind around the feather and put it through its paces making it go up and down, left and right, end over end, and around in circles.

"That's neat, I like the way you can do that without a want."

"Well if you can do it with a want then show us how it's done."

Harry took his wand from his sleeve and pointed it at the feather.

"Winguardium Leviosa."

The feather went everywhere Harry pointed his want and when he twisted his wand the feather turned over on its axis.

"Nice wand work harry." Aahz was watching the feather with as much interest as I was.

"What were you saying about a candle lighting spell Skeeve?"

Aahz brought out a candle and put it on the table. "Show him partner."

I flicked a touch of energy at the candle and it lit with a flash.

Harry looked at the flame and said, "I don't even need a candle for that one."

Giving his wand a flick he said "Lumos" and the tip of his wand was glowing.

I started laughing and said, "Boy, I sure wish I could have done that one in from of Garkin."

"Something tell me Garkin would have kicked your butt for cheating like that."

"Aahz, something tells me he would have kicked much more that just my butt."

The first couple of weeks with Harry were filled with simple things and I was impressed with how fast he learned everything. I taught him how to see force lines, how to do simple levitation, and even the candle lighting spell.

Harry explained to us that a spell is never as strong when you use someone elses wand but he was still able to teach us levitation and wand lighting. What was really surprising was that Aahz was able to do them just as I could. I guess Garkins joke didn't extend to wands. Needless to say, Aahz was so happy he spent the next two days practicing with a twig.

As things progressed I decided to teach Harry the disguise spell. I showed him how it worked by putting on my Garkin disguise. Harry said the only way they had of looking like someone else was to use Polyjuice potion and he really wanted to learn my way instead. When he explained to us about the potion and what it tasted like I was really glad I didn't go to Hogwarts.

"But you will have to ask Hermione how to make it because it's way over my head."

"No thanks," Aahz said, "I prefer a spell that doesn't make me throw up."

I changed back from the Garkin disguise and explained to Harry how to do the spell.

"It's really much easier than it looks Harry. What you do is picture the person being disguised, either you or someone else, in your mind then picture the disguise you want and move it onto the person and either build up or melt away the features until you have a exact match."

Harry closed his eyes and thought for a moment then smiled and suddenly I was an old man with a long flowing beard and half moon glasses.

When he finally opened his eyes again he looked at me and his smile went away as fast as a rock going over a cliff.

Aahz noticed ti too. "What's wrong Harry?"

"It didn't work."

"Sure it did. You can't see it because you cast the spell. It's an illusion and since it's yours, your mind knows the truth but when I look at Skeeve I see Albus Dumbledore."

Harry got excited all over again knowing the spell worked.

Just then Hermione walked in looking for Harry.

"Harry, Ginney and I were wondering...Oh my God, Professor!"

We all cracked up at the look on her face.

"Relax Hermione, it's my new disguise spell, that's really Skeeve.

Harry closed his eyes again and suddenly Hermione was a stern looking witch wearing black robes, square glasses, and her hair was in a tight bun on top of her head.

"Wow, I'm Professor McGonagall. I'm very very impressed Harry."

"Hermione what is taking you so long?"

In through the door walked Ginney.

"Professor, what are you doing here?"

"I'm not Professor McGonagall, I'm Hermione. This is Harry's new disguise spell."

"Well you could have fooled me."

Suddenly Harry was looking like the cat that just ate the canary.

"If you want to fool someone I have the perfect idea."

"Ronald Weasley, get in here right this instant!"

Ron walked into the reception area to face his mother looking mad enough to skin a dragon bare handed.

"Mum, what's wrong, why are you here?"

"I'll tell you what I'm doing here, I'm taking you home right now. You left on this little trip of yours without making your bed. Do you think I'm your maid or something?"

"Come on mum, you can't be serious."

By this time everyone but Ginney was in the floor laughing so hard we were in pain and holding our sides and when Ron asked what was so damned funny, Ginney couldn't hold back any more and she lost it too.

Harry changed her back and told Ron about the spell.

"Bloody Hell Harry! You damn near gave me a heart attack. Don't every do that to me again."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Hermione and Bunny

Hermione is one smart girl. She reminds me of me at her age, always wanting to learn something new.

Skeeve and I had talked to the new group and found out what their plans were going to be after they left for home, and when harry said they were going to open a business much like ours we all agreed that Harry should have a personal secretary just like I am for Skeeve. The only question was who it would be.

Ginney was the first choice but she and harry both said that Hermione would be better at it because of her attention to detail and her obvious book smarts, not to mention her ability to be able to work with anyone. I have to admit that she is on fast learner as well.

"Hermione, what would you say are the most important things for a personal assistant to know?"

"Well, I would think that knowing how to keep the books straight would be one. Then there would be the ability to keep appointments straight, also being able to multitask, you know, doing multiple things at once and not get confused. I would also think that being able to write letters and such."

"Those are all good points but there are a few more that you should be aware of. Such as knowing your employer better than he knows himself. There will be lots of times when Harry will be to busy to eat or sleep and it will be up to you to make sure that he does."

"Wont that be Ginney's job instead of mine?"

"At home yes, bet at the office you will be in charge of those things. How do you think she will feel if Harry arrives at home half starved and to tired to eat because you let him work to hard and miss lunch?"

"You're right Bunny, I didn't think of that. What else is there?"

"You have to learn his habits so you can anticipate his needs, like when he needs a drink, when he is open for meetings with clients, and when he doesn't want to be disturbed. You have to be able to memorize his calender so you can remind him of important dates. And you have to be able to schedule client meetings in a way that you can learn everything there is to know about the client so you can answer any question Harry may have. In other words you should be Harry's miracle worker."

"There's no way someone can learn all of that in such a short time span."

"Trust me, by the time you get home, every executive on Earth will wish they had someone like you working for them."

"If you say so Bunny, what should I do first?"

"First, let's impress Harry with something he wont be expecting."

"Like what?"

"We have to find out, and the way to do that is to ask what he needs without him knowing it."

"How do I do that? Don't I have to talk to him to find out if he needs anything?"

"Nope. We are going to walk by the conference room like we are going somewhere else and look in on the boys out of the corner of our eyes without ever turning our heads. They wont even know we were there."

As we walked by the conference room we could see that Harry, Aahz, and Skeeve were sitting at the table deep in conversation, Aahz and Skeeve with empty wine goblets and Harry with an empty coffee cup. We went to the kitchen and Hermione got two silver trays and handed on of them to me. While I was putting a pitcher of wine on mine she was putting a pitcher of coffee on hers with a bowl of sugar and a cup of cream and a spoon on hers.

Picking up our trays we went back to the conference room and without a word I put the tray with the wine between Aahz and Skeeve and poured them both some as Hermione made a cup of coffee for Harry then just as quietly left again.

Once we were back in my office Hermione had a hurt look on her face.

"What's wrong, did Harry say something to you that I didn't hear?"

"No, in fact it was just the opposite, he didn't say anything, not even thank you."

"Hermione that's nothing to be upset about, in fact you should be proud of yourself, after all, I am."

"But he didn't even notice that I was there."

"That's because you just did your job in such a professional manner that you didn't even interrupt an important conversation. Trust me, when he has a chance to notice it he will, and I bet he'll say something then."

"I don't mean to complain or sound like I'm self centered but this sure seems like a pretty thankless job."

"Doing little things like that to make his business life easier? It is, but it is noticed and he will make up for it."

Over the next few days I showed her how to arrange Harry's schedule, How to keep the books properly, and how to watch Harry and learn everything about him without hem ever noticing it. She surprised me one day when I walked into my office and saw her and Ginney comparing notes so they could both make Harry's life easier, both at work and at home.

About three weeks into Hermione's training a client came calling. Here was her chance to show what she had learned.

The client's name was Zonner and he was a Deveel with a problem for Skeeve.

Hermione made the appointment for two days away which I felt was plenty of time to research the client and learn what she needed to know.

I had told Skeeve everything in advance so he knew that she would be doing my job on this one but that I would be there just in case she ran into trouble. Skeeve agreed to have Harry there so he could watch her in action. Not only that but I thought it would be a good idea for Harry to be there just in case Skeeve took the job so he could see how things were done once an assignment was taken.

During the next two days I took Hermione around the bazaar and showed her the best places to get information and the best people to talk to. She was very attentive and asked all the right questions as well as making some really good contacts that she could use even later on.

After our trip through the bazaar I showed her how to access Bytina my P.D.A., or Perfectly Darling Assistant. It's a neat little tool that everyone in our position should have. Looking like a compact and pink in color, it's actually a small computer with everything from a virtual keyboard to a video camera. It reaches into the ether, which is nothing more that those energy streams that Skeeve uses for his magic. It's a great source of information as well as entertainment. By the time Skeeve had his meeting, she was more than ready.

When Zonner showed up for his meeting we were all ready for him. Hermione and I were in the reception room and Skeeve and Harry were in the office waiting.

Zonner was a short overweight Deveel with a personality that was more like someones grandfather than the normal greedy Deveel. He was very polite and kind and never once acted like he was more important than we were. In other words I was suspicious of him the moment he walked through the door.

Hermione and I escorted him into Skeeve's office and introduced him to both Skeeve and Harry. He seemed to be really pleased to meet them and shook hands with them both then sat in the chair placed in front of the desk.

Skeeve looked at Zonner and asked, "So what can M.Y.T.H. Inc. do for you Mr. Zonner?"

"Well Mr. Skeeve, I got me a problem that I've been trying to solve for two year now and haven't been able to do it, and since everyone says that you folks are such miracle workers I figured it was time I gave you a try."

"Fine, if you don't mind, I would like to have my secretary give me a quick status update on you then we can get down to business. Hermione?"

"Mr. Zonner, as you can tell, is a native of Deva. He is an organizer of small businesses around the bazaar that normally would not have much pull with the Merchant's Association but that is quickly changing due to his reputation. His net worth is well into the nine figure range. He is married and has seven children, four boys two of which are married and three girls of which one is married, not to mention nine grandchildren. He likes sports, dragon poker, fine art, and musicals, but hates meat, small animals, and rain. Mr. Zonner is also the only Deveel at the bazaar that believes in full disclosure, before the deal is final."

"My gosh she's good. One thing though, I don't hate meat, it hates me. Bad digestion."

"Noted and updated Mr. Zonner."

"How do you do all of that with no notes young lady?"

"All part of the miracle Sir."

"So what can we do for you today Mr. Zonner?"

"Well, it's like you just heard. I organize some of the small business around the bazaar, the really small businesses, actually the street merchants. The problem is, when it rains they have to close up shop and loose money until it stops raining. Now you yourself know that when it rains here it don't mess around, so you can figure for yourself just how much business they loose."

"A standard bazaar tent is multidimensional so you can guess how much one of them would cost, and being simple street merchants we both know they would never be able to afford one. Besides most of them enjoy and take a lot of pride in how they do business and would refuse a permanent place even if you gave it to them."

"Hayner and the others at the Merchants Association say that a non-magical tent is still a permanent place because they are just to darned big to pack up every night and my boys like to sell in different spots every day."

"We tried using some of those moving tents like the use for those Pervish cooking places but no one liked not being able to control where the tents were going and they had to spend half the day looking for them because the tents would move even when closed down"

Skeeve thought about the problem for a couple of minutes but it was Harry that spoke up.

"As I understand the problem Mr. Zonner, what you need is a tent that is not only portable but weather proof, light weight so it's easy to carry around, but yet compact so your merchants can carry both it and their product to different spots every day. I also imagine that you would want them to be unique and original to the bazaar so you could control the market on them."

"Dang it, you people are sharp. No wonder everyone says you're the best."

"Mr. Zonner, I believe we have exactly what you need. Give us one week to come up with a working model for you then you can judge for yourself."

"If you can do it in only a week, you will all get a bonus whether you want one or not."

Zonner was on cloud nine when he left the office and so was Skeeve. Harry took over that meeting like a real pro. He knew exactly what the client needed and knew exactly what to provide.

Once the client had left Harry looked at me like he expected me to yell at him since I was the one who asked him to join us. Skeeve caught the look as well and addressed the problem.

"Harry, is something wrong?"

"Skeeve, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to take over your meeting like that, it's just that I saw what the problem we and knew what the perfect solution would be."

"Harry, there is nothing to be sorry for. In the first place it wasn't my meeting, it was our meeting. Second, you did just what I wanted you to do. You saw a problem, found a way to solve it, made the decision to act on it, and didn't back down. In other words you acted just like an executive director. I'm proud of you for what you did."

Hermione was so excited that she couldn't sit still.

"Harry, I'm so proud of you. The way you handled that you should be Minister of Magic."

"Only if you would be my secretary. The way you memorized that information was nothing short of brilliant."

"Excuse me. I don't mean to put a damper on everything, but as Skeeves personal assistant I think we might all want to know what your perfect solution is?"

"It's really simple Bunny, Hermione and I saw them at the world cup, they're called inflatable tents."

Once the meeting broke up and Hermione and I were back in the reception area, I ask her what she thought about what had happened.

"I thought everything went really well, and I can't believe Harry actually complimented me like that. He's never done that before."

"Congratulations Hermione, you just passed your final exam with flying colors."


End file.
